Eat a little, drink a little,
Talk a little, sleep a little,
Mix a little, move a little,
Serve a little, worship a little.
Do asana a little,
Pranayama a little,
Reflect a little, meditate a little.
Do japa a little, do kirtan a little,
Write a mantra a little,
Have satsang a little. – Swami Sivananda

What do we understand from these lines? A life lived in moderation, will enable us to lead a life of consideration and concern for Mother Earth. Let us step back and see how much we trash in our lives. Overexploitation of the natural resources of earth. Over fishing, over-grazing, over-harvesting and depleting the resources will lead to the destruction of the system. The earth has no chance to recuperate and replenish the soil from exploitative planting of cash crops.

Toxic waste is dumped in the desert and the land further becomes barren. The grazing ground for animals is reducing. As more people are eating meat. Water is consumed for foods which require a great deal of watering. Almonds and pistachio need plenty of water and then this leads to forest fires as the Earth becomes dry with dead scrub.

Sheep graze the fields and then there is erosion and desertification. The sand removal from the beaches is used for construction and this accelerates beach erosion which leads to destruction of coastal vegetation and then there is further depletion. Water is consumed indiscriminately by us, because we are thinking only of ourselves. Have you paused to think how fish and animals are dying because of loss of water?

A small example

My cats are desperate, if their clay bowl is not refreshed every day. Have you observed an elephant or a hippopotamus in a river. The elephant needs the water to spray and cool itself. If the hippo does not roll in the wet mud, it gets terribly sunburnt. Many of you dear ones, must have got sunburnt and you know how painful it is. The poor hippo has no such advantage to treat it and this happens when the water dries up. One can go on with what we do to the earth and water bodies.

Remember all the natural resources are there for all denizens of the earth. Treat them with respect and use sparingly. Be constantly aware of Swami Sivananda’s golden words.

Aim Hrim Klim